Japanese company donates US$10,000 to coffee board

Observer Reporter

THE Association of Japanese Importers of Jamaican Coffee (AJIJC) has donated US$10,000 (about J$$619,000) to the Coffee Industry Board (CIB).

The funds will go toward the rebuilding of the industry, which is expected to cost US$18 million.

"(The donation was made) in recognition of the seminal leadership of the CIB in the post-Ivan coffee industry recovery programme," said Masaro Ueshima while making the donation at the CIB's office on Thursday.
He is AJIJC secretary-general and a director of the Ueshima Coffee Company.

The AJIJC represents several Japanese coffee importers and has traditionally had a close relationship with the industry and the CIB. Over the years, joint initiatives from both organisations have significantly enhanced coffee trade between Jamaica and Japan - the country's largest buyer of coffee. About 1.2 million kilos of Jamaican coffee, valued at US$24 million, is exported to that Asian country every year.

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